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For Readers: When is It Queer?

Gay Sci Fi

Today’s reader topic comes from QSFer Paula Wyant:

How much does a character’s sexuality have to feature explicitly in a story for it to fall into the LGBTQUIA category? Do they have to be a relationship? Does the relationship have to be the central focus to the story?

It’s a good question. We had this one at a Rainbow Con panel last year, from an audience member.

For me, the simple fact that the protagonist is queer is enough, and introduces subtle changes throughout a story.

But what do y’all think?

Writers: This is a reader chat – you are welcome to join it, but please do not reference your own works directly. Thanks!

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1 thought on “For Readers: When is It Queer?”

  1. As a writer, for me, writing is Queer when the main character is LGBTQ. No muss, no fuss, just an everyday character who is LGBTQ. They make no apologies for being who they are, If it is simply mainstream LGBTQ fiction, the story is the important thing. If there are love scenes, one must treat them just as in any other non-Erotica fashion. The purpose for general fiction is to tell the story. In Erotica, sexual explicitness is needed along with the story. Both general LGBTQ fiction, (novels or short story collections within genres like Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Science Fiction) and LGBTQ Erotica (which can fall into any type of genre-based fiction, but with a lot of hot sex thrown into the plot)…BOTH must be character driven. What does the character want? How will that character achieve his/her goal? Writing is writing is writing. What makes LGBTQ fiction, LGBTQ? Well thought out characters who are openly LGBTQ and how they react with other LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ characters.

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